A New Chance
by Chasethefireflies
Summary: What if Sirius hadn't have died in the Department of Mysteries? What if he had been saved by someone? Someone who will change Harry's life, and help him in his quest to defeat Voldemort. Post-OotP, parts are canon, parts are OC
1. Chapter 1

"But some part of him realized, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before. . . . Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him. . . . If Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back. . . . That he really was . . ." _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, p.808_

_Chapter One_

'I shall see you in half an hour' said Dumbledore quietly. 'One… two… three…'

Harry felt the familiar sensation of a hook jerked behind his navel. The polished wooden floor was gone from beneath his feet; the Atrium, Fudge and Dumbledore had all disappeared and he was flying forwards in a whirlwind of colour and sound…

The familiar view of Dumbledore's majestic office encircled him. A few of the dozing portraits grunted awake at the sound of Harry hitting the floor. Harry got up and stood silent for a moment. Sirius was gone. He had fallen behind the curtain and wasn't going to return. Harry kicked at the desk angrily, and then winced in pain at how hard his foot had connected. A familiar chuckle sounded behind him.

'Bit of a stupid thing to do.'

Harry froze, standing on one leg and clutching his injured toe. No. It could not be. He didn't turn, but instead slowly lowered his foot. Harry had seen him die, and now his mind was playing tricks on him. He must just be exhausted, and replaying old memories of his godfather in his head. Yeah, that was it, he said to himself. Shaking his head, he lent down to rub at his aching foot, when the voice spoke again.

'Harry? Are you alright?' A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and the weight of it was too real for Harry. He suddenly turned, and was caught in shock at Sirius standing right in front of him, looking very confused and very much alive.

'He saw you die, Pads, give him a minute, for Merlin's sake.' Harry jumped, turning back to see a woman lounging in Dumbledore's chair. She had long scarlet hair, darker than a Weasley, tied up into a pony tail. She was around Sirius' age and was wearing distinctly muggle clothes. She was sitting sideways, so her legs hung lazily over one of the arms and her feet rocked back and forth in thick, lace up boots.

'Jessica? Is that you? How..' Sirius started, only to be interrupted by the woman again.

'I'll explain when everyone gets here, skip repeating myself a hundred times over.' With that, she sent a patronus from her wand, which formed the ghost of a small bird, out of the open window. Harry stared, open mouthed, looking between the two of them. Sirius still looked completely confused and uncertain, whereas the woman, Jessica, looked simply bored.

'Harry, are you okay? You aren't hurt or anything like that? I don't know what happened, I just..' Sirius was interrupted again, although this time by the appearance of Dumbledore in the office doorway. Sirius immediately began towards Dumbledore, as if to begin asking questions, but Dumbledore's electric blue eyes became fixated on Jessica's presence. She remained lazily draped across his chair and didn't even look at him.

'You took your time,' she said, glancing up at him and raising her eyebrows.

'I apologise for my lateness,' he replied calmly, approaching the desk. The woman made no move to vacate his seat, so Dumbledore conjured three comfortable armchairs out of thin air and settled into one. He gestured for Sirius and Harry to join him, but only Harry did. Sirius remained rooted to the spot, staring wordlessly at Jessica.

'We thought you were gone...'

'I was, for a while…' This seemed to open the floodgates for Sirius, who shouted furiously at the figure in Dumbledore's chair.

'For a while! You were gone for fifteen years, Jess! Do you know what's' been happening? Do you know what happened to James and Lily? To Harry? To Me? Do you know what Pettigrew did?!'

'Of course I know what Pettigrew did, Sirius. Course I bloody know. You ask where I was, but where were you? You lost your temper at the rat and got yourself thrown in to Azkaban! 'Jessica replied with venom in her voice, sitting up in the chair and throwing Sirius murderous looks. Harry looked between the two of them, whilst Dumbledore sat looking at them over his half-moon glasses, twiddling his thumbs idly.

'HE WAS YOUR BROTHER, JESSICA! HARRY IS YOUR NEPHEW! YOU LEFT AND HE HAD NO ONE!'

'YEAH, BECAUSE YOU GOT YOURSELF ARRESTED FOR MURDER!' As the two began to shout at each other, Jessica sitting higher and higher in the chair, and Dumbledore's brow beginning to furrow, Harry realised what Sirius had said. James was Jessica's brother, he'd said. Harry had another aunt, and this one was nothing like Petunia.

**A.N This is my first fic, so please review! I should have the next section of chapter one up soon, maybe either today or tomorrow xx**


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

_Chapter One, Part 2_

'MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE, IF YOU HAD BEEN AROUND TO TRY AND HELP!'

'I'm your what?' Harry interjected, at a normal volume, still trying to catch up.

'WHAT, LIKE YOU WERE?! YOU WERE MEANT TO BE THEIR SECRET KEEPER, SIRIUS! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT, EH?!'

'THE RAT CONVINCED ME!'

'YOU STUPID DOG!'

'Enough,' said Dumbledore calmly, though the two paid absolutely no attention to him.

'FAT LOT OF GOOD YOU WERE, LOCKED UP IN BLOODY AZKABAN!'

'FAT LOT OF GOOD YOU WERE, RUNNING AWAY!'

'I DID NOT RUN AWAY!'

'Enough!' Dumbledore said loudly, standing up. As he did, the office door crashed open, revealing Lupin, Professor McGonagall and Snape.

'Sirius? How..?' Lupin took a step into the room, shocked to see the best friend that he thought he had lost standing in front of him, his face red with anger. Sirius turned to look at him, revealing the woman standing almost nose to nose with him. 'Jessica!'

The woman smiled at the sight of him, for the first time since she had appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Harry noticed how young she looked when she smiled, and how white her teeth were against the deep crimson of her lips.

'Remus! Come in, you are missing the party!' She walked around Sirius, not even bothering to look at him, and ran into Lupin's surprised arms. He seemed as shocked as Sirius to see her there, but nowhere near as angry, as he held her by the shoulders to look at her, and his face split into a wide grin. He looked past her to Sirius, and his face dropped.

'But, how, Sirius? We saw you fall, Bellatrix's curse hit you square in the chest.' Sirius looked questioningly at him, seemingly completely unaware of what Lupin was talking about. Jessica, however, waved off Lupin's questions.

'We can get to all that in a minute. Snivellus! How nice of you to join us!' She had moved away from Lupin and had planted a kiss on Snape's shocked face, leaving a red lip imprint on his pasty cheek. 'And, Minerva too! Oh, aren't we ever so popular!' At a mention of her name, shocking Harry, McGonagall broke into a smile and shook her head amiably at her. Jessica grinned, and walked back to Dumbledore's chair and sat down, this time with both feet on the floor. Snape seemed to be trying to take the look of shock of his face, and replace it with one of malice, but to Harry's amazement, a subtle blush reddened his features.

'Jessica, I do not wish to rush you, but Harry has had a long night. Madame Pomfrey will probably be wishing to have a look over him in the hospital wing presently…'

'Oh, yeah. Sorry.' She looked over for the first time at Harry, and smiled sheepishly. Harry eyes brushed over features, trying to pinpoint any similarities between the two of them. Maybe in the way her nose curved, or something, he supposed. Dumbledore, however, immediately recognised a similarity between them; their tempers, which could erupt without warning.

'Why don't we all sit down?' Dumbledore asked, conjuring another three chairs around the desk and gesturing to those standing to take a seat.

'Some tea would be good too, Dobs,' Jessica said casually, which was immediately followed by a loud _crack!_

'Mistress Jessie! Mistress Jessie! You is home!' Dobby jumped up and down in glee, his tea cosies wobbling dangerously on his head. 'You have come back to see Dobby! Dobby has missed you so much, Mistress Jessie!' The house elf threw his arms around Jessica's legs into a tight hug and then leapt back. 'Mistress Jessie ask for tea? Dobby will be right back!' And with a second _crack!_ Dobby disappeared.

'You know Dobby?!' Harry said in utter disbelief. 'How?'

But, before she could answer, Dobby had returned, floating a heavily laden tray complete with a teapot, a large plate of biscuit and jugs of sugar and milk. Alongside the tray, seven cups and saucers appeared, floating towards each person residing in the office.

'Dobby brought your favourite biscuits, Mistress! Dobby still remembers!' He said excitedly, his ears bouncing while he hurried to fill her cup with tea. When he was done, he turned, 'And Master Harry! You is meeting Mistress Jessica!' Dobby was so happy, tears seemed to be streaming from his eyes and he almost dropped the teapot. Jessica reached over and took it from him, placing it onto the tray now sitting on the desk.

'Thank you, Dobby. Listen, go back to the kitchens and I'll come and visit you as soon as I've finished with this lot, okay?' Dobby grinned toothily and nodded. He threw his arms around her legs once more, backed away and disappeared.

'You know Dobby?!' Harry repeated, staring at the spot where Dobby had been standing.

'I'm sure he's going to want to be the one to explain it all, so I'll leave it to him. We've got a lot of stuff to talk about as it is.' Jessica looked across to Harry once more, and smiled. She hadn't seen him since James and Lily had died, and it was so bizarre to her that she was holding a proper conversation with the boy she had known as a baby.

'Jessica, you had better start talking.' Sirius said, having moved his armchair closer to Harry's, enabling him to put one hand onto his shoulder.

'Start at the beginning, if you will,' Dumbledore added. Having watched the events of the night unfold, he was quite intrigued to see what she had to say.

'Can't I just go over at happened tonight?' She said with a groan, dramatically throwing her head back at the thought of having to relay the last fourteen years to the group, all in one go. 'Like you said, Harry is tired and it's been a long night for everyone. I mean, Sirius died and everything and…'

'What!?' Sirius said with a yelp, his confused expression accompanied with a vice-like grip on Harry's shoulder.

'Just the events of tonight will suffice for now, Jessica. But, we will need to talk about what else has happened.' Dumbledore nodded his head; a prompt for her to begin speaking.

'I heard through the grapevine that tonight was the night that they were going to get into the Department of Mysteries to get the prophecy. I heard the Dark Lord was going to use Harry to get it. I knew that if Harry was going to get into deep water, there would be no stopping Sirius. As soon as I heard, I made for London. Got there too late to stop them going in. Found the red headed boy, I guess he's one of Arthur's…'

'Ron,' Harry interrupted, 'his name is Ron.'

'Fine, I found Ron covered in the brains in one of the rooms and threw a couple of stupefy's at them, which got the majority off. I guessed that Harry would only have left his friends if the death eaters were getting close to the prophecy. Then, a bunch of the Order of Phoenix ran past, and Sirius was in the middle of them.' She turned to Sirius then, who was staring at her intently. 'You're an idiot for going there. You know that Lestrange has it in for you, and that she'd do anything to get at you.'

Sirius opened his mouth at this, as if he were about to argue, but Lupin reached out and put his hand softly on his arm, to suggest he stopped himself.

'I accioed Sirius out of the group and stunned him. I had a little Polyjuice on hand so took a few of his hairs. Took a death eater out, one of the thugs always hanging around Malfoy. Goyle, I think his name is.' At Harry's nod, she continued, 'I used imperius on him- and don't give me that look, Minerva, sometimes it is necessary- and fed him the potion. He was the one you saw die, and fall behind the veil. I got Sirius back to Dumbledore's office and left him here to wake up. I didn't see the rest of the battle, but I went and checked on your friends, Harry. Did what I could to help the bushy-haired girl. I think she was the only one seriously injured.'

'Don't worry, Harry. Miss Granger is in the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey thinks she will be waking up within the next few hours,' Professor McGonagall assured him, when a look of alarm crossed across his face.

'And everyone else? Ron and Ginny? Neville and Luna?' Harry looked around to the headmaster, who was smiling and nodding.

'Everyone is just fine, Harry. There were no fatalities on our side, at least none now that we know Sirius is still with us.' Harry breathed deeply, and began to feel fatigue set in. He thought of how comfy a fresh pair of pyjamas would be, and how warm he would be in bed. As his eyes began to droop, Dumbledore rose from his seat, followed quickly by Snape, McGonagall and Lupin. Jessica remained in her seat, looking with her head tilted at Harry. He looked so much like James, it was scary. With his eyes almost closed, he reminded her of the way James would fall asleep in front of the fire at home when he was a child.

'I think it is best that Harry goes to find Madame Pomfrey right about now, Professor McGonagall.' As she nodded, and went to take Harry's arm to lead him out of the armchair and down to the hospital wing, Sirius interjected.

'I'll take him,' he announced, putting his arm around Harry, who stood sleepily next to him.

'I'm sorry, Sirius, but I must insist that you are not seen walking about the castle. Minerva will look after him. Perhaps, it is best that you go back to Grimmauld Place for the night, and return tomorrow, to see Harry. Remus, will you?'

Lupin took hold of Sirius' arm, said a quiet 'goodnight' to Harry, threw a smile at Jessica, and began to walk towards the doorway. But, Sirius stood his ground, staring Dumbledore down.

'I want to stay with Harry. Even if it's just as his loveable dog curled up next to his bed.' In the background, Jessica snorted into her hand, trying to hold back giggles. Sirius ignored her, and continued to look at the Headmaster.

'If you must, Sirius. But, please walk down to the hospital wing in your dog form. Your presence may not be particularly well appreciated by some members of staff. Mr. Filch, for instance.' Jessica snorted even louder this time, which was echoed by Lupin, although he covered his with a cough. Harry began to shuffle towards the door, no longer caring who came with him, just longing for a bed to sleep in. Sirius silently followed, changing into his animagus form as he went.

**A.N Thanks for the follows and the favourites! And the review, which made my day and made me keep writing and faith!**


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

Harry awoke with a jolt, his eyes flashing open and his hands hauling him into a sitting position. Sirius, who had been curled up as a dog on the floor next to the bed, was immediately on his feet, transformed back into a human. Harry looked around in shock, the events of the previous night flooding back to him in unbelievable waves. He saw Ron fighting against the brains, being wrapped up tighter and tighter. He saw Hermione collapse and Neville dropping the prophecy. The contents of which he still had no idea of, he realised, grabbing at the sheets. Then the image of Sirius, a laugh still etched on his face, being hit by Bellatrix Lestrange's curse, falling backwards into the veil. Then he remembered the comforting weight of Sirius' hand on his shoulder, when he turned and found that his godfather was still alive. The woman had saved him.

That woman. Jessica, they had called her. Sirius had said.. no.. it couldn't be. Harry thought that he had heard Sirius say that James had been her brother. That Harry was her nephew. But, that couldn't be. Someone would have told him. Sirius, or Lupin, or Dumbledore. But, Dumbledore hadn't told him about the prophecy, or the Order of the Phoenix. He hadn't saved Harry from the Dursley's; he'd abandoned him there. That woman, if she was his aunt, she had left him too. She had left him with the Dursley's, to be locking a cupboard and practically starved. His grip tightened on the sheets. Everyone knew about her, except him. Even Dobby, who had tried to save him in his second year, and who had got him through the lake task in his fourth. He had called her 'Mistress.' How did they know each other? Why did everyone know about it, except him?

When had he fallen asleep? He suddenly thought back, very aware that he did not remember the end of the conversation last night. He looked around the hospital wing; it was practically empty, apart from Madame Pomfrey in her office. Everyone must have already gone down to breakfast, he realised. But, Ron and Hermione had been in a much worse way than he had. How long had he been sleeping. He looked to Sirius, who had been watching Harry think with wide eyes and a worried expression. Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed, trying to stand, but his legs were wobbly and he sank down into a sitting position. How long had he been asleep? The last thing he really remembered from the conversation was Dobby's appearance, and sipping the tea while listening to the woman begin to explain. Had he interrupted her at one point? He had a vague recollection of correcting her.

'Harry? Harry, what's wrong?' Sirius' worry was evident in his voice, and he grabbed at his arm when Harry tried to stand again.

'Where is she?! That woman, Jessica, where is she?!' Harry demanded, his head whipping from side to side, checking to see if she was hidden in the hospital wing. She had appeared out of nowhere last night in Dumbledore's office.

'I…' Sirius hesitated, but continued when Harry looked at him, wide eyed and expectant, 'I don't know… Maybe in the Great Hall eating lunch? Or up in Dumbledore's office?' Harry tried to lift himself off the bed once more, but Sirius stopped him. 'Harry, she might have even gone already. She never said whether she was sticking around. Just take it easy. I'll get Madame Pomfrey…' However, Sirius didn't need to, as Madame Pomfrey was quickly walking across the hospital wing from her office, looking worried and carrying a steaming potion.

'Mr. Potter, you are awake. You have been asleep for much longer than I expected, nearly twelve hours. Mr. Black , you will have to move out of my way, I need to see my patient.' Madame Pomfrey elbowed Sirius out of the way and tried to take Harry's temperature. However, Harry jerked his head out of the way, and made to get out of bed again.

'I want to go, I have things to do,' Harry said, reaching for a dressing gown folded on the table next to him. Madame Pomfrey reached across the bed and, with more force than Harry expected, pulled him back on to the bed. She poured a cup full of the potion and briskly handed it to him. Harry downed it, and grimaced at the taste.

'You can go presently, Mr. Potter. You had a long night, Professor Dumbledore explained to me what has happened. He will want to speak to you…'

'I want to speak to him and I want to go now.' And, with that, Harry launched himself out of bed, grabbed the fresh robes that were always left nearby, and marched out of the hospital wing. Sirius followed, obviously concerned, in his animal form. Madame Pomfrey watched the two leave, muttering about how unhygienic the dog was, directing her wand to strip the bed.

Once Harry had changed in a nearby bathroom, he and Sirius began to walk towards the Headmasters office, ignoring whispers from first years and congratulations from fifth years. As they turned a corner, Harry almost walked head first into Colin Creevey, who was carrying a basket of fruit and a 'GET WELL SOON!' card.

'Harry! I was just coming to visit you!' Colin lifted the basket into Harry's gaze, and carried on; 'Ron and Hermione were just finishing lunch and then they were coming too! Hey, nice dog! Is he friendly? Hey, Harry! Where are you going?' Harry just kept walking past Colin, who looked on confused, especially when the dog with Harry seemed to shake his head disapprovingly.

He kept walking determinedly towards Dumbledore's office, not bothering to glance at Sirius to see if he was keeping pace. As he got to the guarding gargoyle, he realised that he didn't have the password. He started shouting random phrases at it, hoping it would move.

'Honeydukes! Sugar Quills! Chocolate Frog! Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans! I don't know! Butterbeer Cough Drops?!' This encouraged very alarmed glances from passing students and portraits. Sirius looked up at him, desperately hoping he would calm down before talking to Dumbledore and Jessica. The latter knew very well how to shout.

'Mr. Potter, what do you think you are doing?' Came Professor McGonagall's strict voice from behind him.

**A.N- Thankyou for the reviews, follows and favourites! Would love some more though! **


	4. Chapter 2 Part 2

Chapter Two, Part 2

As Professor McGonagall continued to look at Harry, impatiently waiting for an answer to what he was doing, the gargoyle suddenly jumped aside. Harry launched himself at the stairs, not bothering to answer the deputy Headmistress, and Sirius followed diligently behind him. When he reached the door to Dumbledore's office, Harry did not wait to be asked in, nor did he knock. Instead, he burst in angrily, looking around the room for any sign of the mystery woman he had met the night before.

She was sat in a comfy looking armchair, with a sandwich on a plate hovering next to her, opposite the Headmaster. Both had looked around at the sound of the door, but neither seemed surprised at who had entered. Harry supposed that they must have heard him shouting downstairs, and had ordered the gargoyle to move.

'Good afternoon, Sleeping Beauty,' smiled the woman. Her sarcasm grated on Harry, and his reply was a dark stare.

'Harry, we understand your anger and that you will want to…'

'Anger?' Harry said quietly, looking straight at Dumbledore. 'Why would I be angry, Professor? Maybe because you left us with that hag all year? The hag that used veritaserum on everyone, and then tried to use the cruciatus curse on me?'

'Harry, I…'

'Or, maybe because you left Snape to teach me Occlumency, after I watched Mr. Weasley get attacked by Nagini? It didn't work though, did it? VOLDEMORT TRICKED ME AND I HAD TO WATCH SIRIUS DIE! AND THEN YOU SEND ME BACK, WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION AT ALL, AND SIRIUS IS HERE, ALIVE! THIS RANDOM WOMAN SAVED HIM AND I FIND OUT SHE IS MY AUNT!'

'Harry, calm down for a moment,' Sirius urged. 'There will be an explanation, I'm sure…'

'MY AUNT, WHO YOU NEVER EVEN TOLD ME ABOUT. YOU LEFT ME AT THE DURSLEYS TO LIVE IN A CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS, WITH DUDLEY PUNCHING ME WITH EVERY CHANCE HE COULD GET. THEN I FIND OUT I'M A WIZARD AND YOU DON'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING! YOU LEAVE ME TO DEFEAT VOLDEMORT OVER AND OVER. AND LAST YEAR, I WATCHED CEDRIC DIE AND YOU STILL DID NOT SAY ANYTHING!'

'HARRY, THAT IS ENOUGH.' Dumbledore bellowed, standing up from his chair. Jessica had not taken her eyes off of Harry since he had stepped into the room. She regarded him with a sense of confusion, rather than pity. Dumbledore had refrained from telling her anything about Harry's life at her request; she wanted to hear it from Harry himself. The knowledge of the Dursleys mistreating James' son came as quite a shock and made her extremely angry.

Harry had paused, breathing heavily. Sirius stood slightly behind him, seeming hesitant to approach. Dumbledore sunk back into his chair, not looking away from Harry for a moment.

'I want to know everything. I need to know everything,' Harry said slowly and deliberately. Dumbledore opened his mouth as if he intended to speak, but Jessica interrupted him.

'I will tell you everything you want to know. The question is whether you will accept it.' Jessica rose from her seat and began to walk to Harry, continuing to speak. 'When I say that I left you for a reason, you will need to believe me. I had a choice and I made my choice. It may have been the wrong one, but you will need to stop yourself resenting it. I do not regret my choice, Harry, as there is no point. I left and you were given to the Dursley's. I cannot change what has happened. When I tell you where I have been and why, you should just listen. Wait until you have heard everything to begin asking questions.'

'Fine.' Harry replied bluntly, approaching an empty armchair and stiffly sitting on it.

'Albus, Sirius, leave.' Jessica ordered, waving them away with her hand. Dumbledore slowly stood, and began to walk to the door. Sirius, on the other hand, looked shocked as his willingness to leave. He did, however, get up once Dumbledore had firmly grasped his shoulder, raising his silver eyebrows at him.

Harry and Jessica Potter were left sitting alone in the grand office. Neither spoke. Harry only looked darkly at his aunt, whereas she acknowledged him curiously. She sat looking at him, studying him. He looked exactly like James.

'Well?'

'Where should I begin?'

'At the start.'

**A.N Sorry for such a short one! The next part should be up tonight or tomorrow, I just wanted to post some now as a HUUUUGGGEEE THANKYOU! to everybody who has favourited, followed or reviewed. I adore all three, but some new reviews would be 'rather splendid' as Albus would say! xx**


	5. Chapter 3

**A.N Sorry for the insanely long gap, I've been struggling with writers block and just needed some inspiration. (Some reviews would help please!)**

'Where should I begin?'

'At the start.'

'On the night that James and Lily died, I was with Pettigrew. The order had been hearing rumours that Voldemort was getting ready to strike at you. Pettigrew was the weakest of us, always had been. If anyone was going to betray James, it would be him. I figured the more time I spent wih him, the less time he would have to speak to Voldemort. I never had any idea that I was already too late. When I left Pettigrew that morning, your parents were already dead, the house was destroyed and you were gone.

'I pleaded with Dumbledore, but he refused. Lily hated that sister of hers, Harry, but I never would have imagined that Petunia would let any harm come to you. I trusted Dumbledore to protect you. The day after Halloween, he sent me away. He told me that Voldemort would return one day, but for now, he would be hidden. I was to find him and slow his progress. I blindly agreed, with no idea how I could ever slow him down. Dumbledore, for some reason unbeknownst to be, sent me to Albania. He was certain that was where Voldemort would spend his exile.'

As Jessica talked, Harry continued to stare at her with an unchanging expression. He silently noted how the curve of her nose was similar to his, and that she wrinkled it in disgust when she did not understand something. He didn't want to listen to her. He didn't think anything she could ever say would make up for missing all that time. But, he wanted to know what was so important that Dumbledore had sent her away from him. After all, she had obviously not completed the mission she had been assigned all those years ago. She continued speaking, oblivious to Harry's inner monologue wondering whether he should get up and walk out, or trust her.

'I was told that Voldemort would be looking for something in particular in Albania. We didn't know whether he knew exactly where it was, or what it was, but he was definitely going to be looking for it. I was to find out what it was.'

'Did you?' Harry interrupted, curious. He mentally scorned himself; he had wanted to appear nonchalant, as if he didn't care what she was saying. But, she was intriguing him. Why would she have been sent to Albania? Why would Voldemort have gone there?

'I found where it was hidden too late. It had already been found and taken. I was years behind; the traces of dark magic were weak, but nevertheless, there. No care had been taken in hiding them. The magic of the object left a trace too, but it was not a dark one. It was more… light. Refreshing. It was old magic that was not intended to be used for evil. Voldemort tainted it. You could smell the destruction in the air. I don't know what Voldemort did to it, but he ruined it with his magic and stole it, long ago. I had no way of knowing where he had taken it, or how long ago. This was maybe two or three years after… after I had been sent there. I had already hit a dead end, and Voldemort was nowhere to be seen.'

'You kept looking, didn't you? That's why you never came to get me.'

Jessica looked her nephew right in the eye and saw fourteen years of suffering. She saw hurt in the realisation that he had had another relative that did not want him. For a few seconds, he looked so incredibly tiny and innocent; Jessica was choked at the sight. She had left him to pursue a dead man, in a wild goose chase. Someone else could have been sent, and she could have stayed to protect him. But she didn't.

'Harry, I made my choice. James and Lily made their choice to join the Order and fight. Sirius made the choice to go after Pettigrew, and risk getting thrown in Azkaban. Your friends made the choice to join you last night at the ministry. We make choices, Harry, and they aren't always the right ones. But we make them, and that is that. There is no point in regretting the years that I didn't know you, Harry, because I've missed them. They are gone, and I am sorry that you had to spend them with the Dursley's. But, that's done. Voldemort is back and I am going to fight. You don't have to like it, Harry, but it is going to happen. Do you understand that?' Jessica's voice had gotten louder, and her speech had gotten faster. She looked upset and angry, but not with Harry. It was like she was angry with every twist that had been thrown at her.

'I understand.'

'Thank you.'

'I have questions…'

'I do too.'

'Me first.' Harry said firmly. 'Was it you who made me fall asleep last night?'

'Technically it was Dobby…'

'Why?'

'Uhuh, my turn. One question each, from now on, in turns.'

**A.N Thankyou for the follows/favourites, please keep them up! Reviews make me so happy as well, they just make me want to write faster!**


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